Wednesday, January 25, 2017

FROM MEMBER TO MINISTER - I Am a Child of God - A New Series Supported by David Platt's "Follow Me" (a blogpost for a sermon to be preached at Kenwood Church in Livonia, MI, on January 29, 2017)

I consider myself very fortunate.  I grew up in a great family.  We were not perfect,  but we were a family.  My mom and dad did a great job raising my brother and I.  My brother and I had a great childhood filled with lots of friends, toys, adventures, and struggles.

My parents protected us and watched over us without being "helicopter parents."  We ran the town.  We made lots of friends.  We had responsibility.  We made bad decisions.  We got in trouble.  We were kids.

I don't ever remember wishing I was someone else's kid.  I may have gotten mad or not liked my punishment, but I never imagined being in any other family than mine.  I fit.  We worked.  It was good.

The reality of being a child of God proclaims the "rightness" of your position in His family.  You belong with Him.  He wants you to be with Him.  You are family!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

FROM MEMBER TO MINISTER - Superficial Spirituality - A New Series Supported by David Platt's "Follow Me" (a blogpost for a sermon to be preached at Kenwood Church in Livonia, MI, on January 15, 2017)

White-washed tombstones - an analogy against hypocrisy, not imperfection.  We are all imperfect, but we are not all superficial!  Take warning!

Matthew 23:27-28New International Version (NIV)

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

FROM MEMBER TO MINISTER - The Great Invitation - A New Series Supported by David Platt's "Follow Me" (a blogpost for a sermon to be preached at Kenwood Church in Livonia, MI, on January 8, 2017)

Invitations are wonderful.  To be "invited" to anything is a great experience.  For someone to think enough of you to ask you to join them, that is amazing.  Baseball games, dinner, ice cream, a movie, the theater, church, etc.  I have been to a Monday Night Football game, Red Wings playoff game, Tigers booth, countless concerts, numerous plays and musicals, graduations, a speech by the Patriarch of Egypt, exhibits of ancient Bible texts, weddings, all by invitation.

Have you ever thought of the gospel as an invitation to join God's family?  I think I have always thought of the gospel as the directions that help me get to the party.  I still had to figure out how to get in.  I never really thought of the gospel as my invitation.

God wants you and me at the party.  He reached out to us long before we were even born.  He wants us to be there.  We only wanted to be there after He made the invitation.

Luke 14:15-24New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Great Banquet

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’
19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.